Majority favours later retirement for women, according to survey

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In Switzerland, the official retirement age for women is 64, a year earlier than it is for men.

A poll by gfs.bern shows that around two thirds are in favour of raising the retirement age of women to 65. Only 16% are against the idea, with a further 18% somewhat against it. Men (78%) are more in favour of the change than women (54%), according to the newspaper 20 Minutes.

In addition, around two thirds are in favour of raising VAT to shore up the finances of the state provided pension. The Federal Council, Switzerland’s cabinet is currently looking at raising Swiss VAT from 7.7% to 9.2%. 23% are in favour of this and 41% are somewhat in favour of it.

Few of those surveyed favoured a reduction in pension payments.

89% of the 1,336 people surveyed consider pension reform urgent.

A sticking point for raising the retirement age appears to be age discrimination. 70% of those surveyed thought raising the age should not be considered while entering the workforce was so difficult for people between 50 and 60.

The survey suggests voters are ahead of politicians when it come to reform. Politicians on the left are firmly against raising the retirement age for women.

The survey was run between 25 May and 11 June 2018.

More on this:
20 Minutes article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now